A Quick Hummingbird Sketch

Just a little quickie for you tonight, as the past couple of days here have been action packed!

See what I have been up to on my other blog.

Show Me The Money

This watercolor doodle looks like the kid is asking the grandpa to show her the  money.

Drawing Doodles With A Brush

Tony van Hasselt has inspired me to do some sketching with a brush this week. 

This is a fun exercise to just get your brushes wet.

Put a mark down and see what it suggests.

It's nothing to get nervous about. It doesn't even have to turn out.

Just stay loose and doodle!

You can use photos or real life for inspiration

Or just draw mindlessly, completely out of your head, like I do! :-D

Drawing Exercises for Improving Your Painting Skills

The second part of Tony van Hasselt's DVD, "Fun With Figures", deals with drawing U.W.O. people with a brush. Tony stresses that this is an exercise. By following along and seeing the process, you'll be better equipped to put incidental figures in your paintings. "Some of these are going to come out, and some of these are not", he says. I really like his playful approach and attitude.

A Delightful Weekend

This past weekend a  virtual internet friendship turned physical when artist, Jennifer MacNeill-Traylor came to photograph the hummingbirds and animals here at Hummer Land.  I did this whimsical U W O  doodle today while remembering our great visit with our new real life friend, Jen. 

See photos of Jen in action and her awesome paintings and photos at: The Mare's Tales - Gypsy Mare Studios

U W O (You-Whoa) Folks - The Proper way to Spell It

Today Tony van Hasselt commented on my doodling post here on SketchingEveryday. Tony writes; "Interesting to see what you did with my UWO folks. You can remember the correct spelling since it is the same as the way they need to be drawn. First the upside down U, then the W and finally the head. OK? Got that?" Gosh, sorry Tony. I do see your point now. Drawing them in order of the letters does help with the concept. It's important to place the head after the legs because the bend and direction of the torso and the legs suggests or determines where the head could or should be placed. Thanks for clarifying that and correcting me. You are a great instructor, Tony and will always be among my favorites. Today's sketches are UWO doodles done with the brush while watching Tony's DVD, Fun With Figures.

More Figure Doodles

Come on people, have some fun! Someone send me some doodles, please!!

Doodling People

Doodle - (noun) A rough drawing made absentmindedly. See, you don't even have to think while doodling. That's all today's U.O.W. (You-Oh) people are, just doodles. I bet you can't come up with a couple of your own! ( a little reverse psychology  ;-D )

Draw People with a Simple Formula by Tony van Hasselt

In August 2000, I attended a plein air workshop with Tony Van Hasselt in Maine.  I love his fresh and direct wet-in-wet approach to landscape painting in watercolor.

Tony has a playful uncomplicated method for drawing and painting the human form. These are not meant to be figure studies, but secondary or incidental to the scene. Once perfected, they add impact and a clear center of interest to any landscape. 

Five years ago, I featured his technique for drawing and painting figures back in 2006. Click on my worksheets.  I got a good response from people who tried this approach. Some even went on to buy the video.Tony calls them U.W.O.  (You-WOh) people because that's the order in which the letters are drawn. The head is put on last. Why not give Tony's (You-WOh's) a try?  I think you'll agree that they are enjoyable to create and may even add more pizazz and interest to your work!

Thinking of Fall, White Horses and the Jersey Devil

Today I've been working on this year's Cranberry Festival Program Book. I've been doing the cover for about ten years and it always features the Jersey Devil. Since the festival is a fund raiser for the restoration of the White Horse Inn, this year I'm featuring the White Horse again. Here's one of the many sketches that are floating around the studio. 

It's A Filly - Same Drawing, Different Technique

Various mediums offer interesting lessons. Like golfers perfecting their stroke, repetition in drawing and in painting is all part of the game. This pencil and wash sketch helped me to solidify the values in this piece. Because the foal is wet in the photo, the dark tones on the body were confusing. That it why it is not advisable to copy blindly from photos. Rendering the subject accordingly to structure and light direction is crucial to overcome this obstacle.

Reiner Klimke Clinic

Dr Reiner Klimke (January 14, 1936 – August 17, 1999) was a German equestrian, who won six gold and two bronze medals in dressage at the Summer Olympics — a record for equestrian events. He appeared in six Olympic Games from 1960 to 1988 (excluding 1980). This sketch is from a photo taken at one of the only clinics this master horseman ever gave in the United States.